Combination pouch and shopping bag



June 29, 1954 J DlTLEA 2,682,290

COMBINATION POUCH AND SHOPPING BAG Filed March 12, 1955 FIG. I. 5

xii 8 1a 1 I5 II I INVENTOR JOSEPH DITLEA 1 BY 33 9 10 wwafl/ ATTORNEYS Patented June 29, 1954- 2,682,29t ICE COMBINATION POUCH AND SHOPPING BAG Joseph Ditlea, New York, N. Y., assignor to Prodoplast Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 12, 1953, Serial No. 341,961

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved combination pouch and shopping bag.

In particular, my invention relates to improvements in a combination pouch and shopping bag of the type disclosed in a United States patent to S. L. Pincus, No. 2,493,085, issued January 3, 1950, entitled Combination Pouch Shopping Bag.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a pouch having a top wall with an opening therein, and means for releasably closing said opening. A flexible shopping bag is attached to the pouch and is adapted to be positioned within said pouch when it is not in use.

In the previously cited patent to Pincus, it is necessary to turn the pouch inside out when it is desired to use the shopping bag.

An important object. of my invention is to provide a combination pouch and shopping bag in which it is unnecessary to turn the pouch inside out when it is desired to use the bag for shopping purposes. Another important object of my invention is to provide a combination pouch and shopping bag in which the pouch is adapted to serve as a stiffening member for the bottom of the bag when the latter is in use.

In accordance with my invention, I make the pouch of a fairly stiff, but flexible and resilient material, such as one of the vinyl plastics which are currently in widespread use. Furthermore, I secure the bottom of the bag to the upper face of the bottom wall of the pouch, said bag being secured only to a small central area of said bottom wall of said pouch. Therefore, when it is desired to use a bag, it is only necessary to pull the bag out of the opening in the upper wall of the pouch and turn the bag inside out so that the pouch is located inside the bag and rests upon the bottom wall thereof.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description, in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which a preferred embodiment is disclosed. The drawings are substantially to scale of a working model of my invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a pouch in accordance with my invention, said pouch being partly opened and my improved shopping bag being shown pulled out of the opening in the pouch. The shopping bag is partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the pouch with the top thereof partly broken away to show its interior construction. The bag is partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the combmation pouch and shopping bag, showing the bag opened up for use. The bag is partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the combination pouch and shopping bag, showing the bag opened up for use.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 1, the shopping bag being broken away.

Upon reference to the drawings in detail, it will be noted that they show a shopping bag I which is attached to a pouch 2. Said shopping bag I in the embodiment shown, comprises a plurality of strands 3 which are interwoven and for n ed into knots 4 at the intersections thereof, in a conventional manner, to form a netting. When bag I is held in an upright position, as taken in Fig. 4, said bag I is generally tubular in shape. Bag I is closed at the bottom thereof and has an open top. Optionally, drawstring 5 may be extended through the top loops of bag I.

Pouch 2 is generally elliptical and flat in shape. Pouch 2 comprises an outer bottom wall 6, an inner bottom wall I and a top wall 8. Each said wall is preferably made of a stiff,'but flexible and resilient, material such as a vinyl plastic. Said walls are respectively elliptical in shape.

In the assembly of the combination pouch and shopping bag, I prefer first to secure the bottom of bag I to the upper face of inner bottom wall I. In this first step in the assembly, Ijmake use of an insert disc which is designated in the drawings by the reference numeral 9. As is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5, disc 9 is substantially circular and is considerably smaller than wall I. Preferably, disc 9 is made of the same material as the walls 8, 6 and I of pouch 2.

The bottom of bag I is placed against the upper face of inner bottom wall I, at the center thereof. Disc 9 is inserted within bag I and against wall I. Disc 9 is secured to wall I by a seam I!) which extends around the circumference of disc 9 slightly inwardly of the peripheral edge thereof. Preferably, seam I0 is formed by a conventional heatsealing process. Disc 9 is centrally located with respect to wall I.

After disc 9 is secured to wall I, walls 6, I and 8 are secured together, preferably by a conventional heat-sealing process, at the peripheral edges thereof, the edge seam of pouch 2 being designated by the reference numeral II. Walls I3. I and 8 are in substantial transverse registration in the assembled pouch.

Upper wall 8 has a longitudinall extending opening I2 in order to permit insertion and withdrawal of bag I from pouch 2. I provide any suitable means for releasably closing said opening I2. In the embodiment shown, said closure means comprises a pair of longitudinal tapes I I and I5, which are respectively secured to the upper wall 8 adjacent the longitudinal edges of opening I2, forming respective seams I3. Preferably, tapes I4 and I5 are made of the same material as the walls of pouch 2, so that seams I3 may be formed by a conventional heat-sealing process. Slider It is mounted on the inner edges of tapes M and I5 for longitudinal movement thereon, and said inner edges of said tapes It and I5 have any suitable cooperating shapes such that movement of slider I6 in one direction releasably engages said inner edges of said tapes I4 and I5 to close opening I2, and movement of 3 slider I6 in the other direction disengages said tapes I4 and I to permit access to the interior of pouch 2.

- My improved combination pouch and shopping bag is adapted to be used in the following manner:

Initially, bag I is located entirely within pouch 2, and opening [2 is closed. In this position, pouch 2 may be carried inconspicuously by the user.

When it is desired to use bag l, pouch opening I2 is opened, and bag I is removed as much as possible from pouch 2, in the manner shown in Fig. 1, until only the bottom wall of bag I and the lower portion of the peripheral side wall of bag I are located within pouch 2. Bag I is then turned inside out to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this position, bag I has a bottom wall whose central portion is held between disc 9 and pouch wall I, and which extends through the opening between tapes I4 and i5 and under pouch wall 8. In this position, therefore, bag I has a bottom wall which conforms in periphery to the periphery of pouch 2, and which is stiffened by said pouch 2.

When shopping bag I is no longer to be used, it is only necessary again to turn bag i inside out, after which it can be readily re-inserted within pouch 2.

The use of outer bottom wall (5 is optional, but is highly preferred because the lower face of inner bottom wall I is likely to be marred when disc 9 is heat-sealed thereto.

It will be apparent that in the use of my combination pouch and shopping bag, it is unnecessary to turn pouch 2 inside out at any time. This makes it possible to make pouch 2 of relatively stiff material, so that it serves as a stiffening insert for bag I when the latter is used as a shopping bag.

Another important feature of this invention is that disc 9 may be relatively small in area, in comparison to the area of wall l. The reason for this is that in use, the combination pouch and shopping bag has a bottom wall whose periphery is defined by the periphery of pouch 2, and is therefore independent of the area or periphery of disc 9. The small size of disc Q makes the operation of securing disc 9 to wall 'I, along seam I0, an extremely simple heat-sealing operation.

While bag I may be made of any suitable material, it is preferable that the strands 3 be of sufficiently small diameter and sufficiently spaced so as not to interfere appreciably with the hea sealing process by which disc 8 is secured to wall I.

While I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention and have indicated various changes, omissions and additions which may be made therein, it will be apparent that various other changes, omissions and additions may be made in my invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A combination pouch and shopping bag comprising an axially elongated, substantially hollow bag formed of relatively open-work net-like fabric, said bag being open at the top thereof and having a closed bottom end, and a pouch, said pouch having a bottom wall and a top wall secured to said bottom wall, said top wall having an opening which serves as the only means of access to the interior of said pouch, said Pouch also including a substantially planar insert memher of smaller size than said bottom wall, the bottom portion of said bag being located within said pouch in abutment with said bottom wall of said pouch, said insert member being also located within said pouch and overlying the bottom portion of said bag, and means securing said insert member to said bottom wall of said pouch so as permanently to secure said bag to said pouch, said pouch being made of a material which is stiff and which is also somewhat flexible and resilient, whereby said bag is adapted to be releasably retained within said pouch and is also adapted to be withdrawn from said pouch through the opening in said top wall, said bag being then adapted to be turned inside out so that said pouch serves as a stiffening insert for the bottom of said bag, the periphery of the bottom of said bag then substantially conforming to the periphcry of said pouch.

2. A combination pouch and shopping bag comprising a pouch which has a top opening, said pouch being made of a material which is stiff and which is also somewhat flexible and resilient, a bag comprising an axially elongated, substantially hollow main body portion formed of relatively open-work net-like fabric, said bag being open at its top end, and having a closed bottom end, said bag being adapted to be releasably retained within said pouch, and means fixedly securing the central portion of the bottom end of said bag to the central portion of the bottom wall of said pouch, whereby said bag is adapted to be substantially withdrawn from the interior of said pouch and turned inside out, said pouch then serving as a stiffening insert for the bottom of said bag, the bottom of said bag then substantially conformin in periphery to the periphery of said pouch.

3. A combination pouch and shopping bag comprising an axially elongated, substantially hollow bag formed of relatively open-work netlike fabric, said bag being open at the top thereof and having a closed bottom end, a pouch, said pouch having a bottom wall and a top wall'secured to said bottom wall, said top wall having an opening which serves as the only means of access of the interior of said pouch, the bottom portion of said bag being located within said pouch in abutment with said bottom wall of said pouch, and means securing the central portion of said bottom end of said bag to said bottom wall of said pouch, said pouch being made of a material which is stiff and which is also somewhat flexible and resilient, whereby said bag is adapted to be releasably retained within said pouch and is also adapted to be withdrawn from said pouch through the opening in said top wall, said bag being then adapted to be turned inside out so that said pouch serves as a stiffening insert for the bottom of said bag, the periphery of the bottom of said bag then substantially conforming to the periphery of said pouch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,493,085 Pincus Jan. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 829,727 France July 5, 1938 462,174 Canada Jan. 3, 1950 993,004 -France Oct. 25, 1951 681,522 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1952 

